A few of the South Bay prep boys' basketball teams began their CIF-Southern Section playoffs on Wednesday with many more to come on Friday.

Palos Verdes, which had winless Bay League records in the past two seasons, is enjoying its best season it had in several years with a third place finish in Bay action. The Sea Kings began the CIF-Southern Section Division IIIAA playoffs on a good note by hanging on for a 78-77 victory over host Gahr High in Cerritos.

P.V., which improved to 15-11, had to hang on after the Gladiators' Jeremy Carlyle stole an inbound pass but he missed a three-point basket as the buzzer sounded.

The key to the Sea Kings' victory was making nine of 10 free throws in the final two minutes of the game, four of those from Will Yoon. Yoon also had a key steal with 46 seconds left.

Yoon's last free throw gave Palos Verdes a 75-69 lead but Gahr stayed in contention behind baskets by Gregory Carlyle.

Free throws, however, kept the Sea Kings ahead.

The Gladiators made seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter and 14 for the game.

Leading P.V. was Jake Peterson with a season high 24 points.

The Sea Kings had a 35-23 halftime lead after a fadeaway jumper from Nick Bell.

P.V. moves to the second round at home against No. 3 seed Brea-Olinda Friday at 7 p.m.

In the Division IVAA playoffs, Morningside started off well with a 60-44 victory at Riverside Prep.

Keying the Monarchs, who improved to 10-17 after finishing fourth in the Ocean League and recording a key 51-44 home win over cross town rival Inglewood last Thursday, was Gabe Solache with 22 points.

Dakaria King added 14 points, seven assists and four steals.

James Brown contributed eight points and 12 rebounds.\

Morningside will face the winner of Wednesday's first round contest between Milken Community and Mission Prep from San Luis Obispo Friday at 7 p.m. at a site to be determined.

St. Bernard, which finished fourth in the highly competitive Del Rey League, had 16 points and eight rebounds from Terrance Powell for a 58-38 win in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division IVA playoffs at Ontario Christian High on Wednesday.

Rob Fuller had 11 points and five assists for the Vikings, who improved to 9-16 overall.

The win puts St. Bernard into the second round at home against fourth seeded Campbell Hall from North Hollywood Friday at 7 p.m. Campbell Hall rolled over Inglewood Animo Leadership, 76-30, Wednesday at Campbell Hall.

Highlighting the basketball playoffs will be the first ever prestigious Open Division that includes 16 elite boys' teams and 12 girls' squads.

There will be three South Bay teams in No. 6 seed Redondo, No. 10 Torrance Bishop Montgomery and No. 13 Gardena Serra. The Sea Hawks, who won the Bay League at 10-0 after a 49-37 win at Leuzinger in Lawndale last Thursday, begin at home against Moore League runner-up Compton. The Knights open at No. 7 Chino Hills, who has one of the United States' top sophomores in guard Lonzo Ball, who already has committed to UCLA once he finishes his high school basketball. The Cavaliers visit No. 4 seed Corona Centennial, which is also very talented behind Long Beach State-bound Deontae North and Sedrick Barefield, one of the top junior point guards in the nation.

Top seed is Santa Ana Mater Dei, which is the top ranked prep boys' basketball team in the country by most polls. Etiwanda is second and Los Angeles Loyola is third.

One of the big surprises is that Moore League champion and another powerhouse, Long Beach Poly, was left out. That was because, according to Southern Section officials, that the Jackrabbits (19-7) did not meet the criteria due to not as good of record against other top teams. Poly, though, is the top seed in the Division IAA and open at home against Knight from Palmdale Friday at 7 p.m.

Pioneer League champion Lawndale is seeded fifth in Division IA and open at home against Ventura, an at-large team from the Channel League, Friday at 7 p.m.

For the girls, just one South Bay team got into the Open in Serra. The Del Rey League co-champions, who were upset by Bishop Montgomery 57-48 last Thursday at Serra, are seeded fifth and begin at home against No. 12 Mark Keppel High from Alhambra Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Del Rey's other co-champion, Bishop Montgomery, stayed in Division IVAA and is the second seed, behind No. 1 Junipero Serra from San Juan Capistrano. The Knights have a first round bye and play at home in the second round Saturday against the winner of tonight's game between El Segundo and host Paraclete in Lancaster.

Bay League champion West Torrance was on the Open Division watch list but failed to make the cut. The Warriors, however, are the top seed in Division IIA and open at home against Baldwin Park, an at-large team from the Montview League on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Bay co-runner up Redondo (with Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula) is seeded No. 4 in the Division IIAA and start at home against Fontana Kaiser Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Panthers are in IA and visit Katella in Anaheim at the same time.

Also top seed is Inglewood in Division IIIA as the Lady Sentinels begin tonight at 7 p.m. against Ganesha from Pomona.

In the CIF-Los Angeles City Section boys' basketball, Westchester received the top seed and begin at home Friday at 7 p.m. against South Gate South East.

Narbonne is seeded fourth and hosts No. 13 Crenshaw at the same time.

For the girls, Narbonne is second seed and hosts Verdugo Hills tonight at 7 p.m.

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Joseph Snyder graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, CA in 1973, received his Associates of Arts in journalism at El Camino College in 1976 and his Bachelors of Arts in the same subject in 1980.
Joseph was assistant sports editor for Coast Media Newspapers from 1981-94. He also wrote and shot photos of sports for Argonaut, Beach Reporter, Lomita-Harbor Connection and South Bay New Times.
Joseph currently does freelance writing and photography for Culver City News, Gardena Valley News and Herald Publications in El Segundo. Contact Joseph.